The Seven Days of Awe are somewhat modeled on the Jewish “10 Days of Awe” between the Feast of Trumpets and Yom Kippur or the Day of Atonement. For the Jews, this is a time for “serious introspection, a time to consider the sins of the previous year and repent before Yom Kippur.”
As believers in Jesus Christ, we are not bound by the Hebrew feasts, holy days or traditions, but we can apply the objectives, intentions and spirit of the “10 Days of Awe” to our Christian walk.
Choose a day to begin Day One of the Seven Days. Study the scriptures given and reflect how you can apply the objectives of the day to your life.
As you proceed to the next day, reflect on the day before and take note of your growth.
3 According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue: 4 Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. 5 And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; 6 And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; 7 And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity. 8 For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Peter 1:3-8
Day 1. Titled: Reflection on the Return of the King
First of please don’t think I am making fun of the doctrine of the 2nd coming of Christ. Belief in the Second Coming of Christ is important because it is clearly what the Bible teaches.
If you question or doubt the Second Coming you are:
- doubting the reliability and validity of God’s Word. Second
- You make Jesus a liar, he Himself promised it. If Jesus was wrong about the Second Coming, how can we trust anything else He taught?
- You have lost hope and confidence that God is in control of all things and is faithful to His Word and His promises.
25 “There will be signs in the sun, moon and stars. On the earth, nations will be in anguish and perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the sea. 26 Men will faint from terror, apprehensive of what is coming on the world, for the heavenly bodies will be shaken. 27 At that time they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. 28 When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”Luke 21:25-28
For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. 1 Thessalonian 4:16, 17
The Second Coming is also important because it will come at the time when the world is most in need of a righteous King. Are you ready for a righteous King. Are your ready for peace on earth, end of sickness and pain, are you ready for righteousness? Are you ready to rest from you labors and travail in the presence of the Lord?
When God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. Revelation 21:4
Day 2. Immersion in the Word of God
Proverbs 4:20-23 says, “My son, give attention to my words; incline your ear to my sayings. Do not let them depart from your eyes; keep them in the midst of your heart; For they are life to those who find them, and health to all their flesh. Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life.”
If you want the power of the Holy Spirit in your life, if you are tired of being a wannabe Christian, having a form of godliness but denying its power then its time we change our routine and immerse ourselves in the Word of God. Allow the word to enter our spiritual pores to soak, saturate ourselves until we are soggy with the word, we drip the word. Were ever we go some of the word drips. We hold a bill we can’t pay in our hand, the word drips on it. Divorce papers: the word drips: a bad report from the doctor. Gossipers, backbiters, slanders, negative people, shake yourself like a dog and wet them too.
Read the word. think about it, memorize it, use it.
The words of God are not simply instruction for living—they are more than just Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth. The word is God-breathed (2 Tim 3:14), and they contain within them the ability to change everything not just in your like but it can change the world
The word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Hebrews 4:12
Day 3. Praying in the Spirit
Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints; Ephesians 6:18
To pray at all times is to live in continual God consciousness, where everything we see and experience becomes a kind of prayer, lived in deep awareness of and surrender to our heavenly Father.
- When we are tempted, present the temptation to God and ask His help to deal with it or eliminate.
- When we experience something good in our life: give thanks to God right then and there.
- When we see evil, pain, suffering, pray to God to handle it and be open to how he wants to use us in the situation.
- When we encounter trouble or obstacles in our own live, turn to God as our savior, healer, deliverer guide and waymaker.
Pray without ceasing.1 Thessalonians 5:17.
Jesus we are to always to pray, and not to faint;
Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints; Ephesians 6:18
In other words, our life becomes a continually ascending prayer, a perpetual communing with our heavenly Father.
1:20 But you, dear friends, by building yourselves up in your most holy faith, by praying in the Holy Spirit, Jude 1:20
Day 4. Praise and Worshiping in the Spirit
Praise is the joyful recounting of all God has done for us. We acknowledge the righteous acts of God. We verbally express appreciation for His mighty works for us, our families our communities and the world. Since God has done many wonderful deeds, He is greatly to be praised! (Psalm 18:3).
- He is your praise and He is your God, who has done these great and awesome things for you which your eyes have seen … Deut 10:21.
- Every day will I bless thee; and I will praise thy name for ever and ever. Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised; and his greatness is unsearchable. One generation shall praise thy works to another, and shall declare thy mighty acts. Psalm 145:2-4
- I will bless the Lord at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth. Psalm 34:1
Worship, however, requires a different mindset and way of thinking. Worship springs from our spirit, the inner-most part of who we are. Worship requires the flesh and the soul man to be abandoned and the spirit to express pure, unadulterated love and adoration of God. Worship requires surrender of will, abandonment of decorum, abdication of self, renunciation of form or fashion, submission to the Holy Spirit.
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Praise is what I do
When I want to be close to You
I lift my hands in praise
Praise is who I am
I will praise You while I can
I’ll bless You at all times
And I vow to praise you
Through the good and the bad
I’ll praise you
Whether happy or sad
I’ll praise you
In all that I go through
Because praise is what I do
‘Cause I owe it all to you
To truly worship God, we must let go and be willing to humble ourselves before God, surrender every part of our lives to His control, and adore Him for who He is, not just what He has done. Worship is a lifestyle – not an act. Jesus said the Father is seeking those who will worship Him “in spirit and in truth” (John 4:23).
Day 5. Living Sacrifices to God
I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. Romans 12:1-2
Present your bodies for use by God. Be willing to go where the Spirit leads like Philip who ran down the chariot of the Ethiopian. Get rid of or learn to work around things in your life that may hinder you from serving God and your fellow man.
Do not be conformed to the world. The world tries to trap, ensnare and impress itself on you like a stamp or or slime in a mold.
16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. 1 John 2:16
Everyone will had to deal with one or more of these temptations the world presents. For we all sin and fall short of the Glory of God.
We all under lust of the flesh, and I believe lust of the eyes as well, but what about the pride of life? Pride is one of the sins that God hates.
The fear of the LORD is to hate evil: pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way, and the froward mouth, do I hate. Proverbs 8:13
Here are some examples of the sin of the pride of life:
- The desire to get recognition for this that you have done or credit for the work and accomplishments of others.
- The longing for the praise and adoration of others .
- The desire to rule or exercise power over others in a way.
Remember that a great sin of Satan was and still is pride:
For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High. Isaiah 14:13, 14
Day 6. Examine Yourself: Introspection
Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates? 2 Corinthians 13:5
The Living Bible says “Or are you just pretending to be Christians when actually you aren’t at all?” Examine yourself thoroughly, from different angles, in different light, using a microscope if need be.
During the disco era, many clubs that had black lights to illuminate the floor. When the regular lights were turned off and the black lights turned on, many things that were invisible in incandescent or fluorescent light became visible under the black lights. Lint, dandruff and certain clothing stains suddenly become visible for all to see.
The pagan philosopher Socrates said “The unexamined life is not worth living.” But we Christians sometimes spend time more closely examining the life of our church leaders, brothers and sisters and those outside the church than we do ourselves.
Jesus said: And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye? 4 Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye? 5 Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother’s eye. Matthew 7:3-5
- For if anyone thinks himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself. (4) But let each one examine his own work, and then he will have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another. Galatians 6:3-4
- Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your call and election sure, for if you do these things you will never stumble; for so an entrance will be supplied to you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. 2 Peter 1:10-11
- Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; Philippians 2:12
- When we truly examine ourselves, we will in the position to repent
- (9) If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9
Day 7. Celebration the Marriage Supper of the Lamb
What John’s vision in Revelation pictures is the wedding feast of the Lamb (Jesus Christ) and His bride (the Church) in its third phase of the plan of God for your life.
6 And I heard, as it were, the voice of a great multitude, as the sound of many waters and as the sound of mighty thunderings, saying, “Alleluia! For the Lord God Omnipotent reigns! 7 Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready.” 8 And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints. 9 Then he said to me, “Write: ‘Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb!’ ” And he said to me, “These are the true sayings of God.” Revelation 19:6-9
The second coming has 3 phases:
- Phase 1: When you placed your faith in Christ as Savior. He proposed, you accepted. You announced the engagement to friends, family, on Facebook and twitter. You went to the court house, went to the doctor got your tests and shots.
- Phase 2: The actual rapture of the Church, when Christ comes to claim His bride and take her to the Father’s house for the wedding. Instead of a ring, He gives us a stone with our new name on it.
- Phase 3: The marriage supper of the Lamb takes place in heaven is like a heavenly wedding reception. The wedding party made up of saints from every nation, race, culture and together we sing, dance and rejoice that He has come again and made us worthy to be His bride.
Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, 26 that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, 27 that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish. Ephesians 5:25-27